Player Ratings: New England Revolution at D.C. United

After each match the contributors to New England Soccer Today will rate the performances of the New England Revolution players who made an appearance on a 1 to 10 scale (1 horrendous, 5 average, 10 perfection). This week Sean Donahue and Brian O’Connell contributed ratings for the Revs 1-0 win at D.C. United.

Matt Reis – Average Rating: 7.75 (Brian 7.5, Sean 8 )
Single-handedly saved the Revs from defeat; solid stops, good positioning, and anchored an otherwise porous defense. (Brian) … Man of the Match. Bailed out his backline time and time again. (Sean)

Matt Reis came up huge to preserve the shutout for the Revs on Wednesday. (Photo by CHRIS ADUAMA/aduama.com)

Chris Tierney – Average Rating: 6.25 (Brian 6.5, Sean 6)
Laser-guided cross to McCarthy sets up the game-winner; somewhat lax defense at left back, but nothing egregious. (Brian) … Quality set pieces as usual and held his own at left back. (Sean)

A.J. Soares – Average Rating: 7 (Brian 7, Sean 7)
One of his finest games of the season: smothered Dwayne DeRosario, forced some awkward shots, and communicated well with Reis. (Brian) … Stayed strong – and smart – against D.C.’s pacy and creative attackers. (Sean)

Kevin Alston – Average Rating: 4.25 (Brian 4, Sean 4.5)
Average in the defending third, but failed to track back in transition. (Brian) … Didn’t venture forward, yet still failed to track back in a few dangerous situations. Used his pace well to recover a few times. (Sean)

Pat Phelan – Average Rating: 5.25 (Brian 5, Sean 5.5)
Surprisingly quiet performance. Played level-headed, and avoided dumb tackles and wild challenges. (Brian) … Rarely turned the ball over and played smart when the Revs were in possession, but didn’t have the impact defensively he often does. (Sean)

Shalrie Joseph – Average Rating: 5.25 (Brian 5, Sean 5.5)
Gave the Revs some early bite, but failed to settle the midfield. Forays at forward almost sprang a Sainey Nyassi goal late. (Brian) … Revs benefited from having his leadership and vision back on the field. Fantastic job on the Revs late break to find Nyassi.

Stephen McCarthy – Average Rating: 7 (Brian 7, Sean 7)
Even before the game-winner, the former Tar Heel was a force on the field. Service was good, positioning excellent, and found a nose for goal. (Brian) … Passing was much improved, as was his defensive play. Great finish, though he did poorly with an earlier chance. (Sean)

Zack Schilawski – Average Rating: 4 (Brian 4, Sean 4)
Lost out on the wing; service poor, appeared uncomfortable, but almost steered a header through after the hour. (Brian) … Works hard, but he’s not left footed, making it hard for him to provide with while playing on the left flank. Should’ve done better with his header. (Sean)

Zak Boggs – Average Rating: 4.75 (Brian 4, Sean 5.5)
Dangerous early before fading in the second half. Needs to find a way to avoid burnout and last for an entire 90. (Brian) … Great volleyed shot and worked hard to earn a good free kick. A few nice plays defensively as well, but faded offensively as the match wore on. (Sean)

(sub) Sainey Nyassi – Average Rating: 4.25 (Brian 4.5, Sean 4)
Posed a mild threat on the wing, even in the sweltering temperatures. Missed opportunity to shine. (Brian) … Used his pace to look dangerous, but lost his composure after getting behind the defense and goalkeeper on Joseph’s pass. Poor shot when he should’ve passed. (Sean)

(sub) Kenny Mansally – Average Rating: 4.5 (Brian 5, Sean 4)
Was fairly dangerous late. (Brian) … Failed to make much of an impact despite coming on against an exhausted defense. (Sean)

(sub) Darrius Barnes – Average Rating: 4 (Brian 4, Sean4)
Surprisingly casual in is natural center back position. Failed to keep address D.C.’s penchant for poking holes in the central defense. (Brian) … Failed to track his man on a few occasions. Either not sharp or not 90 minutes fit. (Sean)

2 Comments

kevin smith

July 21, 2011 at 2:08 pm

usually agree with your grades. have to disagree this week. first of all, i believe schilawski is left footed (the left footed shot against seattle in the final minutes). secondly you stated his service was poor. as i remember it, he sent three crosses to lekic’s head in the first half which were our best opportunities of the first. they were definatly 3 ot the best services of the first half.

The shot against Seattle was with his left foot, but I do not believe he is left footed (he may be more two-footed than most Revs however). I believe most of his goals (not including headers) have come off the right foot. For example this shot, where he had space to try to chip the keeper, he uses his right: http://www.mlssoccer.com/videos?catid=1916&id=4832

I bring up the issue mostly because I haven’t noticed him deliver many crosses with his left foot. I think you might be confusing some of Tierney’s crosses for Schilawski. At least I can’t recall any successful Schilawski cross other than the one in the 12th minute.

About Sean Donahue and Brian O'Connell

Sean Donahue has been covering the New England Revolution since 2002 for various publications. He hosted Revolution Recap, a weekly radio program covering the New England Revolution and U.S. Men's National Team from 2005-2008. He is a member of the North American Soccer Reporters, and can be reached via e-mail at nesoccertoday@gmail.com.
Brian O'Connell has covered the New England Revolution since 2006, and has written extensively for the Associated Press, Revsnet.com, and New England Soccer News. He is a member of the North American Soccer Reporters, and can be easily reached at BOConnell21@aol.com.